Author: chicagoinquirer

by Nicole Winfield VATICAN CITY — The Vatican on Tuesday doubled down on the value of monogamous marriage between a man and woman, responding to concerns raised by African bishops about the practice of polygamy in their flocks. The document from the Vatican’s doctrine office said the Catholic Church had a well-documented position upholding the indissolubility of marriage as a lifelong union between spouses. But it said the church’s position on the unique and exclusive nature of a monogamous marriage was less well known. In recent years at Vatican meetings of bishops, African delegates have regularly complained that polygamy is…

by Curtis Eye, Sal Christ, LUENA RODRIGUEZ-Feo, Vileira Carley Petesch President Donald Trump is bestowing ceremonial pardons on two turkeys before flying to his private Florida resort on Tuesday to celebrate Thanksgiving. The holiday interlude comes during what has been a turbulent and uncertain chapter of his second term. The turkey pardon, bestowed this year to birds Waddle and Gobble, is a presidential tradition dating back decades. But Thanksgiving may not provide Trump with much political respite after Democrats won sweeping victories in New Jersey, Virginia and elsewhere earlier this month. In Washington, the president faces the possibility of a…

A federal judge on Monday dismissed the criminal cases against former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James, concluding that the prosecutor who brought the charges at President Donald Trump’s urging was illegally appointed by the Justice Department. The rulings from U.S. District Judge Cameron McGowan Currie amount to a stunning rebuke of the Trump administration’s efforts to target Trump’s political opponents as well as its legal maneuvering to hastily install a loyalist prosecutor willing to file the cases. The orders make Lindsey Halligan the latest Trump administration prosecutor to be disqualified because of the manner…

by Mogomotsi Magome JOHANNESBURG  — South African police say they are investigating allegations that former President Jacob Zuma ‘s daughter Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla lured 17 men who are now trapped in Russia into fighting in that country’s war with Ukraine without their consent. According to police spokesperson Athlenda Mathe, an affidavit filed by Zuma-Sambudla’s sister Nkosazana Bonganini Zuma-Mncube alleges that Zuma-Sambudla and two other people lured the men by claiming they would receive security training in Russia. Details about the two others were not immediately clear. The affidavit alleges they were handed over to a Russian mercenary group and forced to…

by Seung Min Kim WASHINGTON  — The White House is circulating a proposal that would extend subsidies to help consumers pay for coverage under the Affordable Care Act for two more years, as millions of Americans face spiking health care costs when the current tax credits are set to expire at the end of the year. The draft plan suggests that President Donald Trump is open to extending a provision of Obamacare as his administration and congressional Republicans search for a broader policy solution to a fight that has long flummoxed the party. The White House stresses that no plan…

by Gerald Imray, Mogomotsi Magme and Michelle Gumede JOHANNESBURG  — The Group of 20 summit in South Africa ended Sunday with the glaring absence of the United States — the next country to lead the bloc — after the Trump administration boycotted the two days of talks involving leaders of the world’s richest and top developing economies. South African President Cyril Ramaphosa declared the summit in Johannesburg closed by banging a wooden gavel on a block like a judge would, in a G20 tradition. The gavel would normally be handed over to the leader of the next country to hold…

by Andrew Seligman CHICAGO  — Caleb Williams hoped he’d get a chance to chat with Aaron Rodgers. He got his opportunity after he led the Bears to yet another close win. Williams threw for three touchdowns, and Chicago beat the Pittsburgh Steelers 31-28 in a matchup of division leaders on Sunday while Rodgers, the Bears’ old nemesis, was sidelined with a broken left wrist. “Right after the game, we ended up saying hello, get healthy and we’ll go from there,” Williams said. Rodgers is 25-5 against the Bears from his long tenure in Green Bay, counting the playoffs. He once…

by Ben Finley, Ope Adetayo and Sam Metz WASHINGTON  — President Donald Trump’s administration is promoting efforts to work with Nigeria’s government to counter violence against Christians, signaling a broader strategy since he ordered preparations for possible military action and warned that the United States could go in “guns-a-blazing” to wipe out Islamic militants. A State Department official said this past week that plans involve much more than just the potential use of military force, describing an expansive approach that includes diplomatic tools, such as potential sanctions, but also assistance programs and intelligence sharing with the Nigerian government. Defense Secretary…

ABUJA, Nigeria — A total of 303 schoolchildren and 12 teachers were abducted by gunmen during an attack on St. Mary’s School, a Catholic institution in north-central Nigeria’s Niger state, the Christian Association of Nigeria said Saturday, updating an earlier tally of 215 schoolchildren. The tally was changed “after a verification exercise and a final census was carried out,” according to a statement issued by the Most. Rev. Bulus Dauwa Yohanna, chairman of the Niger state chapter of CAN, who visited the school on Friday. He said 88 other students “were also captured after they tried to escape” during the…

by Jake Offenhartz President Donald Trump’s pledge to terminate temporary legal protections for Somalis living in Minnesota is triggering fear in the state’s deeply-rooted immigrant community, along with doubts about whether the White House has the legal authority to enact the directive as described. In a Truth Social post late Friday, Trump said he would “immediately” strip Somali residents in Minnesota of Temporary Protected Status, a legal safeguard against deportation for immigrants from certain countries. The announcement drew immediate pushback from some state leaders and immigration experts, who characterized Trump’s declaration as a legally dubious effort to sow fear and…